A checklist developed in the Hawaii State Department of Health was completed by teachers and aides to screen for behavioral problems of children in preschools. The 31 items were categorized conceptually into four areas: (1) Speech-hearing-language; (2) Academic-intellectual; (3) Physical-motor; and (4) Social-emotional. If two or more items were…

The construct of spatial ability is discussed and it is suggested that some widely used and cited tests that are called spatial ability tests may not be valid measures of that ability. Instead, their items may be solved using mental processes that are clearly analytical and not spatial in nature. Four studies involving the analysis of subjects'…

The Class Achievement Test in Mathematics (CATIM) test booklet and teachers' manual are presented. The 45-item multiple-choice test is intended for years 4-5 of the Australian school system, and measures four levels of mathematics skills; knowledge, computation, application, and understanding. Approximately 45 minutes are required to complete…

Intended for parents, this guide discusses the effects of standardized tests on children, using test items from recent standardized reading tests which have been administered to children aged 7 to 13 and children's responses to these items. For each item, comments are made about the ambiguity of the item; the various interpretations that can be…

This self-administered Likert scale is designed to measure female and male attitudes toward the feminine role. Use is designed for college age and adult women and men. The Inventory consists of 34 statements, each expressing a value related to women's needs, rights and obligations in her relationship with men, children, and the world in general.…

The setting of standards involves subjective value judgments. The inherent arbitrariness of specific standards has been severely criticized by Glass. His antagonists agree that standard setting is a judgmental task but they have pointed out that arbitrariness in the positive sense of serious judgmental decisions is unavoidable. Further, small…

Implementation of an adaptive achievement test for teaching signed-numbers operations to junior high students is described. A computer program capable of finding 240 basic errors in signed-number computations was written on the PLATO system and used for analyzing a 64-item conventional test, as well as an adaptive test of addition problems. The…

The Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE) gain statistic is examined, and considerations for its interpretation are highlighted. The NCE gain is made up of an observed and an expected part. The observed score is the posttest result. The expected score can never be observed nor verified for any of the Title I Evaluation and Reporting System (TIERS) models;…

The standardized IQ tests which are in use in the schools are scientifically and pedagogically without merit. The construct "intelligence" is a hypothetical notion whose valid expression has yet to be born. IQ tests and the construct of intelligence can be discarded at present, and teaching strategies would be unaffected. To successful teachers…

A statement of the major issues surrounding the use of standardized tests in schools is provided, covering the following areas of concern: (1) the major types of standardized tests and how they differ from teacher-made tests; (2) the role of standardized tests in education; (3) administering/scoring standardized tests; (4) interpretation of…

After reviewing the history and evolution of criterion referenced tests and citing the writings of other researchers, the author summarizes the current state of criterion referenced tests. They are used to measure an individual's status with respect to a well-defined behavior domain; the behavior domain can be well-ordered, structured, or…

The degree of agreement between the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and the Personality Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ) in assigning sex role categories was investigated by administering both instruments to undergraduate education majors. As a result of scoring, subjects were classified as androgynous, masculine, feminine, or undifferentiated. It was…

Perception is a process by which simple and complex information (stimuli) is experienced. We gain information about how such stimulus inputs are experienced by a child, for example, by his responses or outputs. Outputs are in the form of vocalizations and motor acts. Thus, the perceptual process is frequently called perceptual-motor. But the…

A study was conducted to determine whether students could self-administer, self-score, and self-interpret the California Occupational Preference Survey (COPS) with the aid of a multi-media device as effectively as similar students could take the survey in the conventional group method which involves counselor administration, scoring, and…

These newsletters, produced during the second year of activity of a standing committee of the National Council of Teachers of English, focus on standardized testing as it affects the teaching of English. The first newsletter describes committee activities and priorities and includes a bibliography of information on tests and evaluation. The other…